Help me pick a shotgun. Not much experience in this

[jonp]

I have far more experience in handguns and rifles. I live within hearing distance of a shotgun range, im listening to them shoot right now, so am thinking of a shotgun to try skeet, clays etc.

What is a suggestion? Ive always bought for hunting partridge or ducks not for for target stuff.

I know there are a number of guys on this board that do target on a regular basis and have lurked on the posts for some time now. Im leaning towards another Benelli but im open to any suggestion short of a Perrazi

[Artful]

Just take your Remington 870 Duck/Partridge shotgun out and have fun - Don't forget to use the correct loads (so you don't get kicked around)

[HeavyMetal]

actually Skeet, Trap, and sporting clay are very different games requiring some changes in both choke and balance.

Benelli's are nice guns as are Perrazi's but kind of expensive, LOL!

My suggestion is going to be an older Remington 1100 in either 12 or 20 gauge and leaning heavily towards the 20! The older guns don't seem to suffer from new management issues at Remington and you should find a few good deals out there if you look hard. I will suggest you stay away from the lite weight 1100 in 20, if you shoot it enough it will need repair.

You'll want a barrel with screw in chokes as well so you can change chokes as you try the different shotgun games.

I'll also suggest you start with Trap shooting, a good 7/8 ounce load of 9 shot will serve you well but pattern the gun and choke combo so you know where the load hits and how dense your pattern is before venturing out on the Trap field.

No reason to spend a lot of money at least not to get started.

good luck with it!

HM

[Ola]

If you are buying an inexpensive shotgun (just to try out): how about a "brand" shotgun made in Turkey? Do you have those around?
Like CZ or Weatherby?

Made in Turkey is not always a good thing, but when an European or American brand orders them, they usually have somekind of a quality control.

If you have the money to buy a Benelli, take a long look at the BERETTA and Browning lines. - "semiauto and starts with a 'B' is not a bad mistake".

[dverna]

If you have a shotgun, start with that, and find out which clays game you enjoy the most and how serious you want to get. I started with a Winchester Select Energy for trap and thought it was fantastic until I put about 5000 rounds through it. A trap gun is not a skeet gun, if you ever get serious about it.

It is important that the gun fits you. That is easier said than accomplished. Proper fit will reduce recoil and let the gun naturally point where you are looking.

MOST people at the local club have no idea what they are doing. Take advice carefully. Be really careful of those who have 20 years of "experience" and are shooting in the high teen's/low 20's. The best investment you can make is a 2 day lesson from one of professional shooters. PM me if you want more details.

[runfiverun]

any of the shotgun games can be a lot of fun, and you can shoot them with whatever shotgun you have on hand if you just wanna have some occasional fun.
I just got in from shooting 50 rounds of trap with my model 1200 in 20 gauge.
there is about zero recoil with a 3/4 oz load of number-8's.
I just can't let the targets get out there too far or I just pull dust off them, I'd probably break more of the ones I'm a bit lazy on if I could find my full choke. :lol:
but I figure 45 out of 50 is pretty good with a gun I haven't shot in over 10 years.

once you get over there and get some shooting in you'll figure out which game to pursue.
you might be able to get by with something like a K-80 with multiple barrels for all three disciplines, you'd be close to a trap grade Perazzi in price for all the barrels.

[Kraschenbirn]

If you're wanting to 'dabble' in the various claybird venues, I'd agree with starting with a Remington 1100 or 870 with screw-in choke tubes. A 28" barrel would be a good compromise for all three formats and, if you should really get serious about one of them, additional barrels (longer or shorter) are readily available and not terribly expensive. I started out shooting league trap with a 30" M12 Winchester and, eventually, went to a Savage 333T OU (made by Valment) which I've still got. For skeet, I used my wife's 26" 870...with a lace-on recoil pad to extend the length of pull...until I bought a Browning Citori "Skeet Special" which, with different choke tubes, doubles as my sporting clays gun. Never really got all that 'serious' about claybird competition but usually manage to finish in the upper half of the scoreboard.

Bill

[Budzilla 19]

Remington 870, 12 gauge,some different chokes of all constrictions, 1 1/8 oz of 7 1/2's, try trap and skeet games,you'll find out real quick what you want to do! Have fun most of all!

[WILCO]

I'd start here:

Condor Field Shotgun


http://www.stoegerindustries.com/sites/default/files/styles/firearm_1004/public/originals/product-firearms/condor-field-shotgun_8.png?itok=yPGRshgI
http://www.stoegerindustries.com/condor-field-shotgun#specifications-section

[Yodogsandman]

Don't know where you are but, every time I saunter over to the shotgun range, they all want me to try out their skeet or trap game, shooting with their shotguns. Most of them are such pretty guns, I know they'd cost me a paycheck to get one. Good guys, huh? You might want to check out your own range, I'd bet they'll all want to help out the new guy, too.

[The Governor]

Maverick 88http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/mossberg-maverick-88-12-gauge-all-purpose-pump-action-shotgun

Get one at Wal-Mart and some field loads and have somefun.

[Mk42gunner]

I never shot Sporting Clays, so no advice there.

I have done just enough skeet to know that it is pretty fun, and for an occasional shooter it would be awful hard to beat one of the older Remington 1100's in 20 ga.

For trap, a Remington 870 TB is a good bet, if you can find one. They came in two versions one with a Monte Carlo stock, one with a flat comb.

Robert

[tygar]

OK, not enough info. What do you have now? Auto, pump, O/U? Gauge, length, choke?

How much do you want to get into it?

I started out using my 1959 Browning A5 full choke 28" for trap. After I learned trap, got a 26" barrel choked skeet & used it. It worked fine - for a beginner. This was long before clays was thought of.

I would never use a pump except if that's all I had & didn't care, but skeet, is really hard with a pump, at least for me.

After shooting 22-23 avg, I got a Belgium Browning Lightning O/U for skeet 26", S&S. For trap got a Win 101 2brl set with a over single.

After shooting straights in both it was time for the 4brl Browning skeet set (or you could always get tubes). Didn't like the 101 as well as Brownings so got a 2 brl set with 34" under single.

Later for clays, I got another brl for the A5 with changeable chokes. Never did all that well at clays.

The real point to this is start small with something you can use well (not pump), as you get better move up to better stuff (or not). I tried the Perazzi's, Kreighoffs, ets. & could never find one that was better than my old Brownings - for me. Just could never beat a 24-26" Browning Lightning, Round Knob S&S for skeet, even though they were thousands less.

I never got to be a "great" shooter, but had a decent average & those mid-priced guns, worked as good as I could shoot & I really liked them, even over the expensive guns.

Just go to some trap & skeet clubs, bring some boxes of T&S loads & get some of the guys to let you try their guns. Find what works for you, & go for it.

Good luck. It's a lot of fun.

[Boolit_Head]

I tried a few over unders but settled on the tried and true Remington 1100. Even more specifically the older ones are my preference. I've got one of the Sportings and I don't like it as much a old Pawn Shop Rescue i fixed up.

[Blackwater]

I'm probably the poorest shotgun shot here, so that doesn't tend to make folks put a lot of faith in what I think, but in a way, being so "challenged" with the scattergun makes me a good source for what tends to matter, and that's stock fit. And stock fit varies pretty widely from gun to gun. Things like comb thickness really matter, as does drop at comb and heel and pitch. With the shotgun, it's all about getting the gun mounted right and consistently the same time after time, and we humans just aren't put together in a manner that's really conducive to that. Especially when we only shoot the shotgun sporadically!

But these are the things that matter most.

The other thing that matters is if you are going to shoot sporting clays games, it's really best to have a double, and most prefer the O/U. That tends to make the price go up because it's simply more expensive to make two barreled guns and have them "regulate" to shoot to the same POI, and this really IS important. I never saw it as being that important until a friend who's a phenomenal shot with any type of gun took me out and got me to do some things that finally opened my eyes to how important it can be. He's long been bending barrels to get folks' guns to shoot where they look, and when he did this for me, I was amazed at how much difference it made.

So it's largely about stock fit, but with std. off the shelf guns, a little barrel bending may work wonders. Shotgun barrels are generally made of pretty soft steel, and the normal bumps and dings any hunting gun gets can make them suddenly start shooting "off," making us miss. So if you can't or don't want to afford one of the real highly regulated and appointed guns, just take whatever gun you have, and throw it up and fire as soon as it hits your shoulder a few times, and note where your "natural POI" tends to be. Then put gentle but firm pressure on it to try to bend it in the right direction, and try it for POI again, again shooting as soon as it touches your shoulder. This is a very revealing exercise, and one that'll amaze most long time shotgunners.

It's an awfully good way to save some $$$ too, but in the SC game, O/U's are very often preferable simply because you can have two, sometimes widely different chokes in. Many ranges (the ones around here seem to be particularly adept at this) tend to have one target as 10 yds. and another at 60, and you HAVE to take the near one first, which lets the 2nd one get far enough out that you'd better center it, or it won't be broken. Most here shoot 7 1/2 shot for the longer shots. #8's simply sometimes don't have enough energy left for some of the longer targets to break them.

If you get it all figured out, you're a darned sight more adept at it all than I am! And that's eminently possible, but this is what I've found in my experience. I also like the autos because of the softer recoil over a 100 shot course and a couple rounds of 5-stand. I guess I'm getting "softer" in my old age? I hear it happens to all of us sooner or later.

[wv109323]

There is a lot of good advice already given. One thing I would suggest is a vent rib on whatever you settle on. And Screw-in chokes is almost a necessity to play all the games with one gun.
Skeet shooters tend to use shorter barrel of 26 to 28" with the open chokes, since they shoot at closer targets.
Trap shooters usually go with longer barrel 30" with full or tighter chokes.
Sporting Clays has the clay pigeons at all distances,so multiple(changeable) chokes are desirable. Skeet and SC require two shots for most stations. This makes the pump gun less desirable in Skeet and SC because of the lost time and body mechanics of shucking a pump gun.
I would show up with what I own now and give it a whirl. Many places have rental guns that you can try or most shooters are more than willing to let you shoot their gun.
Then your pocketbook is your guide.

[Harter66]

I have a Boito O/U that was full over mod , it shot well enough. After 15 yr of steel shot it's more like a tight mod over over a loose mod . As far as trap games go I've shot a lot private thrown clays . I it doubt would pass for most clay games ,sporting clays maybe in a very individual way.

I had a field steel special BPS with a with a 26" ribbed bbl that servers in a similar capacity . The very full steel shooting bbl is hardly more than an improved cylinder with most trap/dove/quail loads . It runs too open .....or maybe I'm just too slow to shoot single thrower doubles with it .

I've doulbed many fowl with both and wrecked many running rabbits but I think probably both are too heavy for really competitive clay games especially when doubles are going different directions .

I shot what I recall being a 28ga model 12 nearly 40yr ago . As a 12 yo and having shot only a single shot 410 and 12ga M12s I liked it a lot and had only trouble with the overall length , it being comfortable for a 6'2" Marine and me all of 5'5" and 90# . I would describe it as lively and quick to point in reflection.

[flounderman]

If you are going to reload, the empties are in your hand with a pump or over and under.

[Artful]

If you are going to reload, the empties are in your hand with a pump or over and under.
There are ways to tame a semi auto from loosing all your hulls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWq5zk8eoyc

[Col4570]

I have been using my Miroku Over and Under 12 Gauge for years.I bought it second hand at a reasonable price.It was a Trap Gun so I opened the chokes to 1/4 and 1/2 and shaved down the Monti Carlo Stock for Sporting Clays.It has served me well and I would be reluctant to let it go since it fits me like a Glove.Look at the Second Hand market there are some bargains to be had.

[Ola]

I have far more experience in handguns and rifles. I live within hearing distance of a shotgun range, im listening to them shoot right now, so am thinking of a shotgun to try skeet, clays etc.

What is a suggestion? Ive always bought for hunting partridge or ducks not for for target stuff.

I know there are a number of guys on this board that do target on a regular basis and have lurked on the posts for some time now. Im leaning towards another Benelli but im open to any suggestion short of a Perrazi

Ok, I read you question again and here is the real answer you need to hear.

Try the different sports with your hunting shotgun. Shoot enough to know which sport you like the best.

Then look in your wallet: what is your budget? If you have the money to buy a medium-priced shotgun, buy a semiauto f.e. gas operated Beretta with the correct barrel lenght etc. The gas guns are reliable and the weight distribution is way better than in same priced double guns. For skeet I would not choose a Benelli because the inertia system is not a reliable with the lightest loads. With heavier sporting loads Benelli usually works reliably enough. Usually.

If you have little bit more money to spend, then the double gun might be an option. F.e. https://gueriniusa.com/gun-type/sporting-guns/ has some nice sporting guns with decent balance and shootability. I'd have one with 30" barrels.

Ok, these are all secondary options.

The really good guns are Perazzi, Kemen etc. They are in the whole other league. Surprisingly they are not necessarily the most durable guns (f.e. Perazzi springs are infamously prone to breakage) but the balance and weight distribution is amazing (in relation to the barrel length). The ability to make thin walled barrels is a big reason they are so expensive.

[warpspeed]

One of my friends comes out and shoots trap with me using his home defense shotgun. You should see the looks he gets.

One of the posters was right, anyone will let you pick up and shoulder their $10K shotgun without a second thought. Some will even let you shoot it.

See if the range has any rental guns to try out. Most do especially if they sell guns.

[fecmech]

As others have said shoot what you have initially until you have some idea what game you want to shoot and what guns work best in those games. That said here is my take on dependable guns for the clays games.
#1. Auto shotguns--The Beretta gas guns starting with the 390,391 etc are workhorse guns that will go up to a couple thousand rds trouble free with no cleaning. (my 390 has currently over 90K rds through it) The Remington 1100 series are also very good and many on the used market.
#2. Pump guns--Unless you were raised on pump guns I would not recommend them for any game involving doubles shooting.Trap singles they are fine to shoot but most pumps are fairly light and recoil will take a toll on you.
#3. O/U Shotguns--The Browning Citori's are probably the best value out there. Trouble free, easy to sell due to popularity when or if you decide to change or upgrade. They will easily go many thousands of trouble free rds. The Beretta O/U's are also good dependable shotguns as are the Ruger Red labels. Personally I would stay away from the cheaper east European O/U's as they don't seem to hold up and are hard to sell. They are fine to hunt with and if your just doing occasional shooting they'll be ok. The thing with shooting the target games is they become addicting and pretty soon you're shooting multiple thousands of rds per year. That's where the additional dollars spent on Citori's, Berrettas and Rugers pays off.
Again as others have said, shoot what you have to get started. The shotgun games are great fun. I started shooting skeet in 1968 and am currently shooting a couple rounds of Sporting clays every weekend. There is just something addicting about crushing clay birds flying in the air.

[Boolit_Head]

I finally had a parts breakage on a 1969 Remington 1100. Seems the feed latch finally cracked while Dove hunting last year. Luckily I had one from one of the competition version sitting at home that was a drop in fit. Hows that for longevity!

[johnson1942]

i held off but i now have to tell you about my 4 shot guns . both my young son and i use these with great success. the first one is a very well made 410 we got for 109 dollars used at a gun store. its a well made single barrel and served my son well when he was small and only 85 pounds. he shot a lot of rabbits and pesky grackles with it. the next is a h and r 20 gauge we got on trade from a friend for some 270 brass. he shot a lot of rabbits and grackels with that gun also. next came two 12 gauge long toms without a name on them and got one for 70 dollars and the other for 90 dollars. they are very old but tight. we shoot target loads from wall mart in them. they both have tight patterns and can roll a rabbit at 25 yards with out a problem. the last two will stand beside any high end gun in hunting anything out their and cost me very very little. saw a high end single barrel winchester recently in idaho for 275 dollars. went back to get it the next day but it was gone. that was a buy and a half. they are out their, just keep looking and one doesnt have to drop big money for them.

[shooter2]

Lots of good advice here. I started trap with a Winchester M 12 and skeet with a Remington 1100. Both worked well. I ended up shooting skeet with a Remington 3200 and trap with a Perazzi. They were better and worth the money in my opinion. Shoot a lot and follow your heart. They are great sports and, generally, good fellowship. If you want to move from 23/24 birds to 25, the guns must fit and have fast lock times.

[Artful]

I finally had a parts breakage on a 1969 Remington 1100. Seems the feed latch finally cracked while Dove hunting last year. Luckily I had one from one of the competition version sitting at home that was a drop in fit. Hows that for longevity!

Actually very good
- I had a friend who used to use the 1100 for competition shooting
- he had 3
one for shooting with
one for backup to the one he was currently shooting
one was usually in the shop for repair.

But then again he shot more shells in a season than I probably will in my lifetime.

[lefty o]

#1 thing is gun fit. if a shotgun doesnt fit you, you wont hit as many birds as you can. secondly for clay target guns stay away form the south american and turkish made guns. they may be ok for a hunting gun that gets carried alot and shot little, but if you shoot any amount of clay targets, you will wear one out quickly. a quality gun will be running long after your on your fifth or sixth cheapy.

[Boolit_Head]

Actually very good
- I had a friend who used to use the 1100 for competition shooting
- he had 3
one for shooting with
one for backup to the one he was currently shooting
one was usually in the shop for repair.

But then again he shot more shells in a season than I probably will in my lifetime.

I was putting 400 to 600 rounds a month through that gun for about at least 3 years. I'm sure it did not have a smooth life before I got it. It was a pawn shop rescue that someone had hack sawed the barrel. I picked it up for 250 put a new barrel and a cheap composite stock on it and I like it better than a new sporting version I have. I've got three here that run like watches. I'm pretty sure most issues with them are owner issues running them to wet or dry or not cleaning. Just for grins though I did not clean mine for about 3 months. after about 1200 rounds I could not stand it and cleaned it even though it was still running just fine. I was even running light 1 ounce reloads that you would have thought would have issues.

[samari46]

Get yourself a nice Remington 870 with choke tubes and a riot barrel and you'll be set wether it flies or walks regular shot, buckshot and slugs. Very versitile combo. I have one with the 28 long barrel with choke tubes for squirrels and small game and the riot of slug barrel can handle buckshot or slugs for larger game. Frank

[jonp]

Great stuff, guys and thanks. I went to the sight Ola linked to and while those guns are nice they are way out of my range. I've had a few shotguns like a Rem 1100 (stolen, grrrrr), Benelli Super 90 Monti and now a couple of Stoeger Pumps I got on sale for less than $200 but I've always looked at them as something to use for partridge and maybe ducks although I don't shoot ducks, geese or turkey much if at all anymore. Target is something I've never considered

[rking22]

Lots of good advice above. I also recommend just taking your hunting gun to the range and shoot some. You will like one or another game better, let that guide you if you really decide to buy another gun. Note I said another, not new.
My son's Browning 325 has at least 240,000 rounds thru it, plus what ever it had when I bought it. It came with Kolar tubes so was a competition gun for the prior owner. Only work is I put a new lower firing pin in it every year or so. 30$ and 1/2 hour will replace all the springs and new firing pins. The gun is worth more today ,9 years later than what I gave for it! He has won HAA ,HOA and all the hi guns except 28 in the state skeet shoot as well international skeet and sporting clays trophies. He is bored senseless with American trap but manages 195 of 200 in the last ACUI completion with his 325 skeet gun and a Mod choke. Beware the person with one gun, he probably knows how to use it! I am a pump gun shooter, he took my M12 skeet gun and ran a straight the first time he ever shot a pumpgun. Do not let people who don't know how to shoot a pump convince you it's not a viable doubles gun! I shoot international skeet and sporting clays with a 870 skeet gun and various barrels, by choice. I break my doubles in the same place with the 870 as an OU, never even think about cycling the action, it just happens.
That said , when you go to purchase a target shotgun , look at the "B" over unders, used specifically. Brownings fit me better and feel better to be, I have owned 3 different Berettas and sold each, but many like them better. Will be shooting my Superposed lightening trap at a sporting clays comp next weekend, it's not going nowhere. It's IM and Full fixed choke, last week shot a round of international skeet, 22 of 25 ,, so don't get too bogged down in hardware,, shoot what you got and have fun!
Rem 1100s , older ,not a new Rem anything, are good. Just keep them clean. 350-400$ in pawn shop, you can get all your money back if you don't "get along". Beretta 391 is excellent, but expensive 750+ used. They have been replaced by A400 ----1400$ for a single barrel shotgun is kinda steep to me, but good gun.
Leave the 600$ new OU guns on the rack,, they have horid triggers and frequently little heat treating internally. They look OK, some feel OK, and most will last a hunter many seasons. Very few will last more than a few years of target shooting! Also resale is poor.
If you really get into it, Blaser has a new gun that feels great,, 4100$ for the sporting gun. We shot them this spring and now I have a B325 tube gun and my son has a Blaser F16! After all he's won with the Browning its NOT for sale :)
These opinions are worth everything you paid,, but they are based on 13 years of intense involvement in youth shotgun sports with TNSCTP and USA Shooting, as well as many years of competition and a life time of hunting. The gun is the cheapest part of the equation when you start clay shooting, buy a good used gun and you can always get your money back if you wish!

[Moonie]

I'd start here:

Condor Field Shotgun


http://www.stoegerindustries.com/sites/default/files/styles/firearm_1004/public/originals/product-firearms/condor-field-shotgun_8.png?itok=yPGRshgI
http://www.stoegerindustries.com/condor-field-shotgun#specifications-section

My wife wanted to try skeet, I bought her this shotgun, she enjoys it, with some 7/8oz hand loads.